Moments Turned To Hours
by Mystic Rains
Summary: Arnold’s in an orphanage, only a shell of what he really use to be. The kids there are even making bets on if he’ll be the next suicide. But when there’s a person from his past who ends up in the same situation as him, he might be able to hang on...
1. Rain

**Title **- **Moments Turned To Hours**  
**Author - **Mystic Rains  
**Rating - **PG – 13, which might jump up to an R  
**Summery - **Arnold's in an orphanage, only a shell of what he really use to be. The kids there are even making bets on if he'll be the next suicide. But when there's the person from his past who ends up in the same situation as him, will they be able to hang on together?  
**Disclaimer - **Hey Arnold? Mine? If it was, I would have certainly have plucked Helga's eyebrow from the first day…  
**Author's Note - **I haven't written in a long time, and to be simple I miss it a lot. I use to be an obsessive Hey Arnold fan, and I still do love to watch it. I've just gotten back into the swing of HA fanfictions once again; I figured I had to do one myself. If you like it, please review. Don't be shocked if this is one of the darker fanfictions. And if you don't like you, you definitely don't have to read it. It is why I've put it under Angst. 

Also, I've finally fixed the first chapter AGAIN. Got rid of somehow Chapter II sneaking into Chapter I. For some reason, I really dislike Chappie I, but I can't seem to write it any better. So at least it's fixed. It's short so if any new readers have time, check out Chappie II as well, and then you can hit BACK

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_I don't hear a sound  
Silent faces in the ground  
The quiet screams, but I refuse to listen _

If there is a hell  
I'm sure this is how it smells  
Wish this were a dream, but no, it isn't

Walk in the rain, in the rain, in the rain  
I walk in the rain, in the rain  
Am I right or am I wrong  
and is it here that I belong

Walk in the rain, in the rain, in the rain  
I walk in the rain, in the rain  
Why do I feel so alone  
For some reason I think of home

Rain - Steve Conte

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Arnold looked upon the spotted ceiling. Its once white padding was stained with leaks. The town constantly told the nuns that they could not afford to donate more money from the budget to fix up the orphanage, so the dirty gold bloches stayed where they were. He couldn't even remember how many times he'd done this, looking up and thinking about the ceiling, the spots. So bored to the point where he can't do any more then lay and bed and count dots.

_Two thousand forty-eight, Two thousand forty nine…Boy it'd be great if Grandma and Grandpa were here to help me… _

He shifted his position upon the rock hard cot, trying to get comfy. No matter how hard he tried, the bed was defiantly making sure he would not comfortable, and there was no doubt that its effort paid off. He wished he could have his attic room, with his bed of what in his memory felt like feathers. He casually wondered if the town sold it. Perhaps if they haven't, he could ask to have it sent here, with him.

_Two thousand two hundred forty six, two thousand two hundred forty seven..._

Realizing he was starting to cramp up, Arnold tore himself away from the ceiling, trying to freeze his frame of mind to where he had stopped. Knowing really he had all the time in the world to count them again, he simply shruged and pushed it out of his mind. Swinging his feet off the cot, he got up and walked across the cold floor, shivering on his way there. He could hear the banging of the room across the wall, with muffled moans from the teenage occupants next door.

What would usual make Arnold blush, simply made him shake his head and try to hum out the sound, concentrating on the torrential rain at his windowsill.

_You really would thing that sort of thing would be prohibited and controlled, but I guess there's so many kids at this orphanage that you can't keep a watch on them all the time. It would be horrible if the girl got pregnant though. How could an orphan give birth to a child? Would that make them an automatic orphan themselves?_

He slightly pondered this, as he grabbed on the medal bars of the windowsill and hoisted himself up. He could barely see out as he took a seat on the small window, since the glass inside was so dirty. It gave the impression that no one had bothered to clean it for what seemed like several years. The rails in front of them would make it difficult for an adult to put their hand through, and he doubted a child here would really care. They were all hyper active, immature, or depressed as he was claimed. The depressed ones were the reason the bars were here, to make sure they couldn't end their suffering. That didn't stop them though, as he had found one of the dead children in the bathroom once. She had decided she needed a drink that night, and found some bleach to quench her thirst. He had had nightmares for months.

Taking a napkin out from under his jeans, he held onto the rails with one hand, and pushed his fingers through with another, mopping up the dust and dirt from the window. It was amazing how clear it was underneath its layer of dirt, as he sneezed through all the dust that wafted through the air.

Soon enough, the window was void of dirt, but it didn't seem to make up much difference at the moment. The pound of thunder and flashes of lightening were nothing to the waves of water buckets that spilled across the glass. It reminded him of the flood he had lived through one of his years at PS118. He pressed his fingers to the windowpane as he shut his eyes, the image of him grasping onto Helga's hand and holding onto dear life.

_Her blue eyes had been so full of fear, although who could blame her? It was one of the rare times I've ever seen true fear upon her face. She was always so angry. I'd do almost anything to see that angry growl again. Just something back from the past..._

"Arnold! You can't be up there! Sister Angelica will have your hide for being there." A young voice whined up at him. He was one of the younger of the boys here, and had lived there all his tiny life."You know how afraid she is of another suicidal on her watch. They'll claim she's not paying enough attention and fire her."

"Yeah, I know Jimmy. As much as I hate the thought of dealing with seeing another dead child's body, I'd love to see her go." Arnold sighed, watching out the window.

Another bolt of lightening illuminated the sky, falling upon Arnold's tired and scruffy figure. His hair was always the same upon his football shaped head, and the little blue hat was ever present, but it had more then enough scruff marks. His favorite sweater was covered in holes, and his pants were patched up in places he got them ripped. The biggest change however, was the dull shade of his eyes. They seemed to hold less and less hope for the future, as every day passed for him.

"You shouldn't be here all alone" Jimmy whimpered, holding his hands to his puffed cheeks. He looked like he was about to cry. "The kids are saying you're the next one who's going to try and kick the bucket."

Arnold looked at him curiously, briefly intrigued by this bit of information. He wondered how Gerald would react if he heard that Arnold – his old best friend, if he had heard people considered him (out of all the people there – which was saying something), the most suicidal.

"You don't have worry about that Jimmy. I promise you I won't. I made a promise to myself that I will live to see better days, and I will not break that promise."

Jimmy looked up at Arnold, and wiped the stray tears off his cheeks onto his oversized sleeve.

"Thank you Arnold. You're like our brother," Jimmy smiled a youthful smile and stared admiringly at his 'big brother.'

Suddenly there was a long loud ring that ran through the entire building, and hoards of footsteps were heard crashing down upon poor bruised stairs, which creaked with discontent.

"Dinner time. Are you going to come down?" Jimmy asked, running to the door and pausing lightly.

"I'll be there in a minute Jimmy." Arnold almost whispered. Jimmy gave him one last glance, and ran down to join the others.

The last one in the room, Arnold gazed upon the window one final time beforedeciding toclimb down. A rush of headlights was seen pulling up to the building and a young woman under an umbrella got out of the driver's side. She was commonly known as the Undertaker, bringinganother child to their doom.

"Another bundle of joy" Arnold sighed sadly to himself, as he remembered that ride here. "You have to love Civil Services."

Another flash ran through the sky, and he was able to get a semi-clear picture through the window. It was a girl this time, of that Arnold was sure, because of all the pink she seemed to wear. She had blond hair, plastered down her back, and a large pink bow that hung loosely, weighed down by the rain water. The adult offered her to share the umbrella, but she ignored her. Maybe it was the rain, but all her attributes in the rain made her seem pretty to Arnold.

There was another strike of lightening, and Arnold got a good look of her face. He almost fell of the ledge of shock, and hopped down, running down the stairs.

_Helga's here! What's Helga doing here?_


	2. If Only You Were Here

**Title **- Moments Which Have Turned To Hours  
**Author - **Mystic Rains  
**Rating - **PG – 13, and I will earn it  
**Summery - **Arnold's in an orphanage, only a shell of what he really use to be. The kids there are even making bets on if he'll be the next suicide. But when there's the person from his past who ends up in the same situation as him, will they be able to hang on together?  
**Disclaimer - **Hey Arnold? If it was mine I'd probably have Helga introduce the five avengers to Spongebob.  
**WARNING – This chapter contains violence against a minor. If you don't like it, you're free to skip over it and it will be explained in later chapters.**

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_I'm a dreamer.  
Where does the light of dawn pour down? _

I'm a dreamer.  
Dimly white, that smile touched me somehow.

That sunshine doesn't touch this place,  
This secret place where you can cry all alone.  
As if I were screaming, I call out your name,  
If you weren't here; if you were here.

Surely, I'll go to that place where the sunshine touches.  
It can't end like this; we still have promises.  
That far off path, that straight path,  
If you weren't here; if you were here.

Kimi Saeireba (Ending Theme) – Love Hina

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_Flashback_

"Olga, pick up the damn phone now!" Bob screamed over his football game, spilling chips from his oversized mouth and down his beer stained shirt. Ever since he had lost his beeper company, all he seemed to be able to do was scream and drink. Miriam couldn't even do anything to help, due for the fact that she actually had enough strength to pack up one day and leave him.

"H-E-L-G-A. Get it right B-O-B!" Helga screamed back, storming out of her room. She picked up the receiver within her parents room and raised it to her ear with a smirk. "City Morgue. You kill 'em, we chill 'em."

"Helga? Is that you?" The soft voice asked. She almost dropped her phone in surprise. "We had an appointment today."

"Dr. Bliss! I'm sor-..I couldn't make it, Doi! I have better things to do with my time than see a shrink!" Helga almost yelled into the retriever.

"Helga, what's happened? You sound different." Dr Bliss stuttered lightly. Helga was by far her favorite patient. She was full of life, and although she had many difficult issues in her existence, she was always the strong point. Most children would just cry and whine. She could never put up with those sorts of things. She took it all silently. Although it was sad, it was still an obvious ability of strength.

"I've grown up. I don't need your help anymore. Now, stop calling!" Helga cried, and slammed the phone down. She gazed at it with a hesitant look, and sighed.

_I need to do this. All he'll do is scream again._

"Olga, who was on the phone?" Bob growled lightly, half slurred, half angry. He held himself up by the doorframe. He had gained so much weight from being home that he could stand in the middle and easily block the way through. His eyes grew cold and dark, and Helga felt a cool shiver travel down her spine. She ignored it however, and deepened her scowl.

"It was no one BOB. Now get out of my way, I gotta do some homework." Helga snarled and made her way towards the exit. Bob however shut it with a snap, locked it from the inside and put the key within his pocket. Helga looked fiercely at him, and through her side eye gazed if there was any other exit within the room.

"You're not going anywhere Missy. I heard ya talking to someone. And it's summer; I'm not stupid enough to think you have homework." Bob rumbled, stomping angrily over her. Helga didn't back down however, simply glowered back.

"You coulda fooled me Bob! Like it's any of your business who I do or do not talk to," Helga hissed at him. She was unprepared however, for his porky hand to grab onto one of her pigtails, and throw her across the room with all of his brute force. She tumbled on the hard floor, and hit back against the bedpost.

"I am your father you little brat." He growled, yanking her up by her other pigtail. She didn't cry out, though she winced. "And when I ask you a question, I expect it answered! You got it?" He threw her once again, upon the bed, on which she tumbled across the other side, landing painfully on her right arm. She slowly made her way to her feet, and defiantly stared at him, refusing to cave in.

"You were never a father. You were NEVER MY father! I have no family!" Helga shrieked at him. This time he did not catch her unaware. When he made his move to grab her, she lifted her foot up, and landed it heavily between his legs. He crumpled to the ground, holding his crotch in obvious pain. She ran to the door and yanked upon the doorknob fiercely. It creaked in complaint, but barely budged. She whirled around, and saw the key her father had dropped. In a rush she ran to it, and grabbed it within her clenched fist. Before she could make her step to the door however, she was grabbed by the shirt and whirled around, and before she knew it she was sprawled along the ground.

There was a huge fist mark upon her already bruising cheek. She could taste the faint copper begin to fill her mouth. She blinked to make sure that at least she could see okay. Before she could climb to her knees, she felt a heavy blow to her stomach, and Helga went tumbling across the floor, and into some furniture. Bob gazed down at his injured daughter, and hissed at her cruelly.

"Before you were so eager to fight! And now what, you're already giving in?"

Helga turned on her side, muffling any sound of pain, and before he knew it she had spit upon his shoes with the heavy colour of blood red.

"You're gonna pay for that." He muttered simply, and pulled her up. She watched him wind up his fist, and she deflected her face to the side, bracing herself for the known impact.

**End Flashback**

"It turns out she was there for more then two weeks in that little room. God knows how she escaped. She was found on the stoop of her therapist's doorstep. There was not one inch of her skin that wasn't covered in bruises or scars. The doctors said that over one-fourth of her bones were broken, and they had to remove her spleen and gull bladder for some of the bones had ruptured them. She's damn lucky one didn't go through straight her lungs." The civil servant sighed softly. "I'm getting too old for this job."

"I know what you mean." Sister Pucca sighed. "She's the worse case I've ever heard and I've heard of a lot, trust me. Who's luckier, the children who never had parents, the children who've had ones who didn't care about them or hurt them, or the children who had loving parents and then lost them."

"They are all sad, in their own way." The servant sighed. "Thank you for the cup of tea. It sure got some warmth into my bones. I've never seen such a rainfall before."

"Well that's what happens sometimes. You should have seen the flood not too long ago. Our basement is already taking too much. It's a good thing we moved everything up to higher ground."

Arnold sighed softly and took his ear away from the vent. It was true that the basement was taking a lot of water. It was already splashing up at his feet as he stood upon the stool to get to the main office vent.

_So that's why she's here. I knew Big Bob was nothing but a jerk..._

He leaned his ear against the vent once more, and listened closely as he heard her name being mentioned again.

"What about the sister?" The sister asked curiously.

"She died in a bus accident with some school children in Alaska not too long ago. It's said to be the reason why her father snapped."

"And the divorced mother?"

"When we finally found her, we read into her medical records. She was a known alcoholic in the past and has suffered through numerous nervous breakdowns. Not the best candidate, you know?"

"Oh Lord mercy. Sounds like she had a horrible life so far. Well, I do hope she'll be able to heal here, under God's ever watchful and healing eye."

There was a brief pause, before the shifting of the chair was heard.

"Well, I better be off. Thank you for everything Sister. May God be with you."

"And also with you," the sister replied, before shutting the door lightly.

Arnold slowly made his way out of the basement. His shoes squeaked through all the water it had collected and he shivered at the cold floor. The floor was always cold here, and he hoped he wouldn't get sick from it.

"I hope you're okay Helga…" Arnold whispered to himself, fingering the little locket with his picture within it. "I have to return this to you."

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**Author's Note - **I really want this story to be successful, so if it doesn't hurt you, please review. It only takes a couple of seconds, and you can write as much or as little as you want. Suggestions are even better, because the better I write, the more people I hope to attract. (Yes, this means PLEASE REVIEW MY DEARS. I'M DESPRATE!) But besides that, I happily got some constructive criticism and I'd like to take the time to reply to the questions which were asked of me.

1.)"How old are they? You refered a couple as teenagers, and then called others kids, so I guess this is an orphanage for all ages. But how old are Arnold and Helga? 11...12...13?"

1) The simple reason I didn't add the ages of both Arnold and Helga is that I'm not sure what age I want them to be yet. I have ideas of each of the proceeding chapters, but not sure of the general idea of if and/or how I'm going to make a romance out of this. So to answer your question, they're obviously past the fourth year, but not too old. I'm going to say somewhere around 15ish. I hope that's okay for everyone.

2.) I was kind of confused when Jimmy popped out of nowhere. Was he sitting there with Arnold? Do they share a room? Or was Arnold's door open and he just walked in?

2) Looking back on it I see that you're right, I didn't actually give an entrance for Jimmy. I do have a reason for that though. Because I was more working towards Arnold's point of view then anything else, and he was so involved with looking out the window, I figured it wouldn't matter to Arnold how the boy entered the room.

3.)Lastly, the dialogue was a little drawn out and dry. It was like the English was too proper to sound realistic. That's perfect for regular narrative and description, but when it comes to actual speech... people just don't talk like that.

3)Yeah, I see your point about the dry remark. I'm into dialogue normally in stories, and in other places normally I never really had a problem with it. For some reason, I'd like to say the reason I made it sound so dry is because I've been browsing through other HA fanfictions when everyone sounded completely so off character and immature I forced myself to lean the other way too far. I will be keeping an eye out for this though, so thank you muchly.


	3. Weak And Powerless

**Title **- Moments Turned To Hours  
**Author - **Mystic Rains  
**Rating - **PG – 13, Because we all know Hey Arnold are too good for those little cheap Nick kiddies  
**Summery - **Arnold's in an orphanage, only a shell of what he really use to be. The kids there are even making bets on if he'll be the next suicide. But when there's the person from his past who ends up in the same situation as him, will they be able to hang on together?  
**Disclaimer - **Hey Arnold? If it was mine I'd probably have a hard time trying to find the perfect person to fulfill the "Hey Arnold – Real World" role

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_ Little angel, go away  
Come again some other day  
Devil has my ear today  
I'll never hear a word you say_

He promised I would find a little  
Solace and some peace of mind  
Whatever, just as long as I don't feel so

Desperate and ravenous  
So weak and powerless

Desperate and ravenous  
So weak and powerless  
Over you  
Over you

Weak & Powerless – A Perfect Circle

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"Criminey, what a dump..." Helga muttered lazily, dragging her feet behind one of the older girls, guiding her up to her new room. She gradually hauled her poetry book bag on her back, despite the nuns' warnings, and avoided the offers to have someone carry it for her. She was tired of having everyone acting like she was made of glass. She still was a Pataki, despite what the state or anyone else said.

"You think this is bad, just wait 'till you get to our 'community cell.' You got a lot to learn kid, 'bout being an orphan of the state." The guide snickered, waiting for her at the top of the stairs.

"What do ya mean? It's not like Annie? Am I not going to get adopted by a billionaire and start skipping and tap dancing like I'm on sugar pills? There's goes my dream." Helga drawled on sarcastically, finally making it on top of the steps with a heavy breath and aching body.

The girl gave a light laugh and smacked Helga on the back with a smile, causing her to wince.

"I can see I'm going to learn to like you kid. I'm Candy. Though the others say I'm about as sweet as broken glass." She grinned, flashing a perfect row of sparkling white teeth at this, and flipped her bright orange hair over her shoulder. Poising with proud grin, Helga had no doubt she would have been Rhonda's lackey in no time.

"Helga. Sorry I can't flip my hair as well, I've recently had whiplash." Helga muttered, obviously not impressed. With an airy dismissal wave of her hand, she began walking down the one way hallway, leaving the girl in her tracks.

"Looks like you'll be stealing my title," Candy muttered with a confident smirk at Helga's retreating figure, before running up to catch her. She rolled the heavy pink suitcase along the floor like it was nothing, pounding on the crooked wooden ground. "You're with the sixteen and up, so you're through those next doors Helga."

"Got it." Helga mumbled, as her hand reached for the doorknob and pushed it open.

The door complained with a long squeak on its' rusted metal hinges, casually revealing the components – or lack of. There was simply a line of what looked like extremely stiff cots and dirty blankets, which looked like they "might" have been able to be pulled off as white originally. There were three lines of these, with about six beds within each line. Other then the beds, and a small window covered in bars seemed to decorate the place, there was nothing within the oversized room, blank as the day it was finished in construction.

"Welcome to our humble abode. Do try not to gape at our extensive accommodations, for we know they are impressive. Your beautiful bed is the one right against the wall and under our fabulous window. " Candy drawled slowly, pushing her way through the room aside Helga. She suddenly had a touch of southern accent, which was quite familiar.

"Hey," Helga called out with a light smirk. "You don't happen to like lemon pudding, do you?"

"Lemon puddin', I sure do love that lemon puddin'. Who couldn't? " Candy asked, licking her lips as if the taste was right there in front of her.

_Knew I recognized that slow cow talk. With a name like Candy, I coulda seen her dating Stinky._

Helga wandered to her bed, finally being able to dump the heavy bag onto the floor. With a soft sigh, she threw herself upon the bed, expecting a nice soft mattress to greet her wary body and heal her of all aches and pains as if she were home. Instead it was met with a mattress as soft and as inviting as her tombstone, and Helga groaned with pain as she felt her bruises come in full contact with a brick like structure.

"Sorry. Shoulda warned ya." Candy shrugged, sitting upon a bed near by with her long legs crossed. "These beds make concrete feel like clouds in comparison."

"I could tell." Helga moaned in pain, waiting for her body to stop aching. The bandages under her pink dress were still there, and although her face was back to its pale complexion, there were still obvious black and blue bruises dotted along her clothes covered body.

"Listen, you should change out of those wet clothes. I imagine you had something to eat before you came here, which by the way I hope you enjoyed it. You know that thing about Oliver and eating grovel? That's true, here at least." Candy shuddered for a second, then regained her thought. "By the time you get ready, they'll probably be someone out the door who'll show ya how to get around." Candy smirked, gazing at Helga's unmoving figure. "I gotta get going tho', I hear they're serving my fav puddin' down in the mess hall." Candy paused lightly, as she rubbed her stomach. "See ya toots."

Candy swung herself up, and hurried out the bare room, closing the door behind her. Helga only then, moaned in pain and rolled to the side, as she peeled off the soaked wet shoes and socks. Spotting a box marked 'dirty' she made a show towards the box, throwing the pair into a large laundry basket at the end of the room. She grinned to herself and mouthed 'three points.'

"This is going to suck. I want my room back. Even the hospital cot was softer… " Helga muttered, pulling the bow out of her daffodil blond hair, setting the cloth aside to dry . Leaning up against the cold wall, she slowly wriggled her way out of her soaked white pants, and well-worn in pink dress, and threw it in to join her dirty socks.

"Nothin' you can do now, Helga ol' girl."

Getting up to her feet, she caught a mirror behind the block door. It was small, but a full enough length to view the whole body. Slightly mystified by the fact there was one there when the room seemed so bland and bare, she got up to her feet. She wrapped her arms against her, shivering lightly as her bare feet pressed against the cold tile.

Extending her hand out, Helga ran her fingers across the cool glass, drinking in the first view of herself within a mirror since the "room". She had to tear herself away from the gaze the first time.

"Why the hell should I care what I look like. I'm not some stuck up princess who cares how she made up every second of the damn day…"

Despite her words, she turned back to the mirror. Whimpering, she brought her fingers to her porky finger shaped prints upon her arms and traced her fingers over them in feather brushed lightness. They seem to extend downwards down her arm, until her arm met her wrist. Most of them had luckily almost faded away, but there were still some there that stood proud of what use to be her pale skin. Her upper body was covered in thin stretch like bandages across her chest and ribs, which she knew was still bruised and the bone still weak, though mended. Her doctor had told her to go easy on them, and "not go kicking anyone's head in on the first week, in fear of you breaking another bone and me having to deal with you longer". Helga remembered that with a light smile, which quickly turned to a hidden smirk.

What she was now was a great improvement of what she had been then, then being when she was first going into the hospital, and she knew it. Helga sighed however, as she ran her finger against a particular nasty bruise upon her thigh, along with a scar. The scar was from a spur on his cowboy boots, needed in his new job costume (whatever it might have been.) It was her last day there, her day of escape, and most painful.

I lost them, and what have I left with? I'm left with nothing, nothing but you! You shoulda been Olga! She shoulda still been here…>>

Helga whimpered hard as she applied too much pressure on the disfigured scar, lightening bolt pain shooting through her nerves like a hot iron. Ignoring it, she walked back to the bed and pulled out a random dress out of her suitcase. It was simply to block out minor pain now, and it barely bothered her. His words though, had struck her harder then any blow he had given.

_Did you really think that she had the right to live and I didn't Bob? I'm your daughter too. I was your daughter…_

The walls vibrated with the soft knock of the door, and echoed off the blank walls. Although it was soft, it seemed like anything could echo in the room.

"Wait a damn second, crimanty!" Helga bellowed, throwing on some dry clothing and some new shoes in record time. Grabbing her new locket, she stuffed it into her dress's hidden inside pocket, and hurried over to the door, swinging it open wide. "I just had to get…"

"Hey Helga. Remember me…?"

…dressed."


	4. Rest In Pieces

**Title **- Moments Turned To Hours  
**Author - **Mystic Rains  
**Rating - **PG – 13 for the teeny sad part in a teenier chapter  
**Summery - **Arnold's in an orphanage, only a shell of what he really use to be. The kids there are even making bets on if he'll be the next suicide. But when there's the person from his past who ends up in the same situation as him, will they be able to hang on together?  
**Disclaimer - **Hey Arnold? If it was mine I'd have a deadline, and thank god I don't  
**Author's Note** Sorry you guys, but I couldn't keep up a pace like that all the time. I'm hoping to do at least one chapter a week though, so this story won't go unforgotten. I know my grammar is horrible, and I'm afraid it might be the same in this chapter – though I'm hoping I did better. If anyone feels like beta-ing me, I would adore it, but no one has to. I probably will be going back, checking and fixing the little things in the previous chapters, so lets hope it all goes well.

PS - All the previous chapters and all the future chapters shall be Beta'ed by my dear Beta-er Blond Cecila. I've always hated seeing chapters dedicated to people as it makes everything seem longer, but she really does deserve it. So please, I hope you don't mind me thanking her at every chapter, as well as all the reviewers of this story. Due to her, these chapters will be a smoother read.

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_Look at me, my depth perception must be off again  
You got much closer than I thought you did  
I am in your reach  
You held me in your hands_

Would you find it in your heart  
To make this go away  
And let me rest in pieces  
(let me rest in pieces)  
Would you find it in your heart  
To make it go away  
And let me rest in pieces  
(let me rest in pieces) 

Rest In Pieces– Saliva 

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Arnold smile lightly at her blank face, and slipped past Helga's frozen figure. Her mouth was still agape when he had climbed on top of one of the cots, and made himself a makeshift chair. 

"You're not that surprised are you Helga? Your dad called me Orphan Boy enough. Now it's true." He asked, more curious than hurt at the memory. 

She turned around slowly, shutting the door lightly behind her. She gazed deep at him, drinking in his same cornflower hair, his usual baseball hat, and even his similar outfit, old but surely the same since she last seen him. She carried herself to the edge of the bed, and sat down by him. 

"Arno-Football Head, where the hell have you been?" She asked briskly, anger rising into her voice. 

"Right here Helga." He sighed, tucking his legs up and wrapping his arms around himselg. "I've been here since the day after the funeral..."  
  
**_Flashback_**  
  
Heavy rain poured upon the church ceiling, as the lighting flashed and thunder rolled overhead. The beautiful stained glass windows were illumined by the bursts of light, and spilled its soft colours upon the ivory coffins, coming out in waves due to the drenching rain. 

"We've come here today to mourn the deaths of Geraldine and Philip. Two people who, despite their age, still had a long life ahead of them. They've touched many people within this community and will be leaving a hole which no one will be able to fill…" 

Sobbing was clearly heard through out the church, echoing off its' depressing walls. The neighbors and the residents were further in the back, crying silently to themselves. Ernie's handkerchief completely was soaked the whole way through, and he had to use his shirt as a temporary one. The neighborhood kids filled the first rows, all solemn and silent. Phoebe was crying openly upon Helga's shoulder, as she had her arms wrapped around her in quiet comfort, gazing between the coffins at the front and Arnold. 

He was gathered at the very front, sitting at the first pew with Gerald right next to him. They both look somber, but anyone could tell Arnold was breaking from the inside. His eyes were glossy with tears, but his cheeks were dry. The residents had their arms on his shoulder and were constantly trying to reassure him. 

"It's come the time to put them back into the earth." The priest whispered to the crowd. All the residents of the boarding house, and some of the neighborhood adults and friends, such as Dino Spumoni, Mr Simmons, Mickey Kaline, and Mr. Green, lifted the coffins above its holist, and out to the back of the church upon their heavy shoulders. There rain continued to downpour as people all threw up their umbrellas to prevent them from growing completely soaked. 

The group circled around the two pre-dug holes, as the priest held his hands up. The carriers slowly placed the coffins upon the string holsters, before lowering them down to the ground. The minister slowly nodded at Arnold. He picked up a handful of the earth and threw it upon both of their graves, whispering softly. 

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust…" 

------------------------------------------------------ 

"Arnold, what are you still doing here?" Helga asked solemnly, holding an umbrella above her as the rain continued to pour down. Arnold was hunched over, his fine suit soaked through the bone, and his pants legs covered in mud as he leaned over his grandfather's grave. He didn't turn around as he replied, the heavy rain mixing with his tears and pouring upon the ground. 

"Helga, they loved me. They loved me like I was their son, more than their grandson. They took care of me when my parents couldn't. Because they're dead. And now my grandparents are dead too! " Arnold screamed furiously, his shoulder shaking in passionate tears, facing Helga for the first time. His deep green eyes caught her light blue ones, and he turned his head to the sky. "Everyone I love is dead, and now I'm left here to be unloved…" 

"Arnold…" Helga whispered softly, reaching her hand out as if she could reach him. She pulled out her locket sadly from under her shirt, and looked at his smiling face, comparing it to the Arnold she saw now. Before she could realize what she was doing, she had walked over to him and slowly grasped his hand. She slipped her umbrella to him, as well as the locket. 

"You're not unloved Arnold," She whispered sadly to him, as she held his hand closed around the gifts. She left him there, with her umbrella and the locket, as she turned around and walked away in the rain. 

**_End Flashback_**  
  
"I left that day. When I got home, there were the agency people with my stuff. They went through my room and had all my bags already packed. I couldn't even think enough to be angry. I didn't get to say goodbye to anyone…" Arnold sighed. "Was anyone mad?" He asked painfully, afraid of how Helga would respond to. 

"We were- I mean they, everyone was crying like babies." Helga yelled, throwing her hands up in the air and stomping around the room in frustration. Arnold winced lightly. "It was turmoil! No one knew where you went. We had huge neighborhood search; Stinky found one of your shirts and bought some bloodhounds just to go searching for ya! And Tall Hair boy, he couldn't do anything. He seemed so lost too. We were all in shambles seeing the empty desk everyday. We thought..you gave up on life...ran away..or worse…" 

She sighed, rubbing her temples. Arnold gazed upon her, his green eyes dull and painful, as he gathered to his feet. 

"I better be showing you around the place." Arnold muttered, exhaling and taking in a deep breath. "We have quite a bit of ground to cover before "bonding time" begins." He swung the door open, and like a gentlemen, held it open for her. "After you, lady Helga.." 

Helga cocked a side of her eyebrow, and gave him a good glare before stomping out of the room. 

"Don't get any ideas bucko…" Helga hissed at him, making her way to the stairwell. Arnold just looked at her figure, and smiled lightly, as a faint sparkle reached his eyes. 

"I wouldn't dream of it."


	5. That's What Girls Do

**Title **- Moments Turned To Hours  
**Author - **Mystic Rains  
**Beta Reader -** Blonde Cecile  
**Rating - **PG – 13 for a bitty sexual hint  
**Summery - **Arnold's in an orphanage, only a shell of what he really use to be. The kids there are even making bets on if he'll be the next suicide. But when there's the person from his past who ends up in the same situation as him, will they be able to hang on together?  
**Disclaimer - **Hey Arnold? If it was mine I'd pay Cecile for her work. But I'm not. Sorry '  
**Author's Note**Ah damn, I'm about two days later than I wanted to get this done. I came out of a bit of a writer's block, but I think I have all of my creative juices flowing again. Like I wrote in the last chapter, everything has been corrected and made a bit neater to read. You can thank my new beta reader BC for that . Because she's done so much, all the future chappies will be written in thanks to her. If you hopefully enjoy this next part, don't be afraid to write a review. 

---------------------------------------------------

_You seem to ask me why I got a lot of things  
It's just a chick thing...  
You ought to let it go  
You try to understand  
but you don't have a clue... _

That's what girls do  
Keep you guessing the whole day through  
Play your emotions push all your buttons it's true  
That's what girls do) 

No Secrets - That's What Girls Do 

---------------------------------------------------

"And the last thing is the mess hall. It's huge and vacant now, but it can be nerve racking at times when you have a headache. It'll seem to echo and triple the amount of kids that are in here." Arnold gave an allusion of a smile as Helga gave it a once over look, obviously not impressed. 

"This seems like a freaking small space for the amount of brats. Who knew we could cram this many kids into this sorta situation." Helga shrugged, and turned on her heel with a spin. Arnold had to hold back laughing for the innumerable time during her tour. Such a sharp forked tongue could hurt even the strongest of fronts, and despite trying to think of this place on a positive scale, he had to agree with Helga on several issues which many of the kids could have never dared to admit. Although she'd never know, just her rough but memorable exterior was curing a bit of the loneliness of the gloomy, clammy, and frosty prison. 

"Hey! Football head, do I have to introduce you to the 'Five Avengers' to get your weird shaped head out of space?" Helga demanded at the edge of the doorway, irritable from the drab and dusty place. Her frown deepened with every second as he waved his arms back and forth, submissive. 

"No no, of course not. I was just…" Arnold stuttered, "just…admiring the beauty. That's all. Uh, yeah…" he finished lamely. Helga snorted the weak attempt of the response, but didn't make a sound of rebuttal. "Anyways, what have you been doing Helga? What's the world like out of these walls?" He glanced outside the high windows, watching the heavy rainfall continue into the shadows of night. 

"How should I know?" He inwardly winced as she snapped at him, knowing that instant it was a stupid question to ask. "I-I mean, how should I know how to explain it to you? It's the same as usual. Besides the group getting older, that's all. Did you know Gerald and Phoebe are going out now?" 

"Really?! No Way!" Arnold jumped, beaming brightly now. 

"Yeah. Everyone on the face of the earth knows that Arnoldo. They hold hands at school whenever they can. Don't you even talk to your best friend?" She asked incredulously. Helga in turn winced at her choice of words as she watched the corner of Arnold's lips gradually sink down in a sad frown. "I mean, yeah, they are together. He really missed you when you disappeared, you know. Most of the time, Phoebe was there consoling him or me. And I guess something just finally registered between them." Helga smiled lightly, in remembrance of her old friend. She hadn't seen her in a while, and Helga had to admit Phoebe was a loyal and great friend since she was young. Remembering something, she stuffed her long fingers and search thoroughly through her pink pockets, pulling out a small Polaroid. 

"Here Arnold…" Helga sighed, with a light smile hidden beneath as she gazed upon the piece of paper. She let it fall into his opened palm. "You probably would like having this with you." 

"Wait! Wow Helga, I can't believe you had this with you!" Arnold grinned, staring down at the picture. It contained Arnold, Phoebe, Helga, and Gerald at the annual cheese fair their last year together. Even at this point he could have told each other that Phoebe and Gerald were destined to be together, the way that Gerald was holding onto Phoebe as she clung against him upon the roller coaster "The Cheezebolt." They had a face of pure fear against them, as the glanced upon the last and highest plunge downwards. Arnold snickered lightly as he remembered how much Gerald denying he was scared after the ride was over. What was most shocking was how in the fuzzy detail of the picture you could make out how Helga was grasping onto his arm in exhilaration and what he thought (but knew would never be admitted to) as tension. They both had a youthful smile upon their faces, and Arnold suddenly felt years older than the picture he had grasped. 

"Helga…" Arnold looked up, smiling lightly. She wasn't waiting for him however, but was walking away with one of the older redheads in the direction of the stairs, talking in hushed secretive tones. He shot a lopsided smile towards her back, and took a glance down once again. "Helga, you were always puzzling, but a friend to the very end. I'll pay you back…" 

--------------------------------------------------- 

"What do you mean a girls' night out? I just got here, and aren't we supposed to keep put after dark? What do you possibly do?" Helga asked incredulously, marching up the stairs with Candy. 

"Aw Helga, what happened to the girl who's adventurous and stuff?" she said grinning. "We gotta introduce you to the other girls here, and kinda, initiate you. You might be pretty young, but your still one of us. Give into the dark side…" Candy gave her a satisfied smirk, and threw her hand around Helga's shoulder. 

"Well, if I'm givin' into the dark side, you better be paying for whatever we're doing O Dark Father. 'Cause they stole my money before we got here. Said, "I wouldn't be needing it," or something like that. Or should I be paying with the force?" Helga mimicked lightly, jumping up the last few steps and making lightsaber motions with her hands. 

"Oh shut up and follow me," Candy smirked, guiding her into one of the hidden janitor doors. She gradually creaked the door open, before pushing Helga in quickly and following in afterwards. 

Falling in an inelegant fashion, Helga coughed and sneezed the dust away, climbing back to her feet. She rubbed her eyes, washing away the tears coming to cleanse them. 

"Geez Can, some sugary coating you got there. You couldn't be sweeter," Helga growled, brushing back the dust upon her pink dress. Blinking away the rest of the moisture from her eyes, she jumped back as figures began to come out from the darkness. 

"Welcome to the gang Helga. Meet our side of the fun." Candy motioned the girls to come into the yellow bleeding light one by one. 

"This is Jessica. Also known as Ty, considering she doesn't tie to no one. When you hear the bed squeak, good chance it'll be her work. " 

An attractively freckled, red haired, dark eyed girl came out of the corner. Her hair was in braided pigtails, and for a fleeing moment Helga's eyes grew fearful of another Lila upon her. The similarities ended there though, as Ty threw her arms around Helga, and wrapped her in the tightest hug she had received in a long time. Ty gave her a sleek seductive grin, and Helga instantly backed away from her grip. Her pink lips spilled each word with an alluring tone, and Helga knew if Lila had ever found out the Helga compared her to Ty, she'd throw one of her ever-so-dainty schoolbooks at her. 

"Not badly chosen Candy. Quite delicate. Not quite ripe yet, but she's coming along. I give her a couple of months, and then she'll be worth my time." 

Candy simply smiled, and made a motion for the next girl to come out of the corner. 

"This is Tiffany, although we call her Bookie. She's obviously the smartest one in the group, and probably the whole orphanage. She's from London." 

A medium sized African America girl slid out from the corner, readjusting her thin-framed glasses. They drew attention to her strangely dark green eyes, and heart shaped face. She hugged a thick book against her chest, and smiled lightly at Helga with bright white teeth, bowing her head with politeness. 

"Charmed Helga," Bookie beamed softly, making a light curtsy. She was obviously of English accent, already thick with the two words simply spoken. Although hesitantly, Helga made a light curtsy in return, and Bookie smiled even brighter and stepped backwards. She had the soft-spoken personality of her best friend of Phoebe, and suddenly hoped that back at school Phoebe was doing okay. 

"Me next! Me!" A girl jumped from the shadows, and beamed hugely, exposing her bright metal braces. She had straight black hair and dark eyes, as usual Asian descents do, but all of her small body seemed to ooze of brightness and sparkles which made Helga wince. 

"Okay okay, fine. Just shut up. Last, and probably least, this is Sumomo. She's from…" 

"Korea! My mom and dad were Korean but I was born here and I love it here and I don't have an accent but my mommy did but she said I had a lovely accent too and when we go back they'll love hearing an American accent and…" 

Ty clamped her hand around Sumomo's mouth and glared down at her. 

"Great great. Now she knows us all. Let's get going before they catch us going out the back door." Ty hissed, dragging Sumomo at the door, who was waving her arm furious and with great vigor. Helga gave the slight thought of a bird caught in the cat's clutches, trying to flutter away. 

"Ready Helga?" Candy smiled lightly at her, pushing the door open. 

"Whatever Bucko."


	6. Alcohol

**Title **- Moments Turned To Hours  
**Author - **Mystic Rains  
**Rating - **PG – 13, 'cause Ty can't seem to keep herself from flirting with the other girls – that little skank lol  
**Summery - **Arnold's in an orphanage, only a shell of what he really use to be. The kids there are even making bets on if he'll be the next suicide. But when there's the person from his past who ends up in the same situation as him, will they be able to hang on together?  
**Disclaimer - **Hey Arnold? If I owned it…F—it, just remember I don't own it.  
**Author's Note** - I'm sure everyone's hating me right now, and wondering why I'm back. A reader sent me an e-mail not to long ago, asking if I was going to continue this, and with their small showing of hope, and me missing just being able to write again, I was able to complete at least this chapter. It perhaps might be a bit boring, but I haven't forgotten completely about this story and I know it has some good potential. So BC, all my reviews, and even those bothering reading through this note, thank you for waiting and I'm sorry for making this so long of a wait. Now I know to never get mad with other authors.

-

_I thought that alcohol was just for those with nothing else to do  
I thought that drinking just to get drunk was a waste of precious booze  
But now I know that there's a time and there's a place where I can choose  
To walk the fine line between self-control and self-abuse_

Alcohol – Bare Naked Ladies

-

"And then when she picked one off her head and saw the red on the tampons, she ran away screaming like a banshee! She had no idea it was just the red ink we had found! She almost threatened to ground all of us from meals! Even the guys! She had no idea it was us!"

The four girls broke off with hysterical laughter, clutching their stomachs achingly. Helga wiped away tears of mirth from her eyes as she took another sip of her Irish cream cocoa. It had the faint alcoholic taste that you would expect in anything with the word 'Irish' before it, but Helga had already learned to like it. Ty was still banging her fist on the table trying to stop herself from laughing, and Bookie & Sumomo had been giggling so hard they had gotten the hiccups. Helga had the suspicion that their alcohol had added in that.

"So Helga.." Ty purred, with a grin that'd match a cat right after it found the milk carton "you had any boyfriend back where ya came from? Or perhaps a playmate to keep you warm?"

"Oh do stop Ty," Bookie giggled, shaking her finger at Ty a bit unsteadily. "Can't you tell that she happens to be a bit too young for that sort of… well, entertainment?" Bookie blushed hard, as though even saying something that even hinted to sex would be wrong. Ty grin grew wider, as she playfully snapped at Bookie's fingertip, and caused her to jump back a bit.

"You can "entertain" me tonight then Bookie," Ty winked at her, causing Bookie's cheeks to have a light tint of red flushed upon them. "Anyways, what's the big deal? What's done is done, and you never know till you ask. So, have you Helgie?"

Helga cocked her eyebrow at Ty, and gave the group the once over look from above her coffee cup. Drinking deeply, her mind ran to Arnold who was within the orphanage. Her secret still had to be kept safe, but she couldn't deny these girls, who were quickly becoming her friends, an answer.

"Nah, no boyfriends nor any action for me. Sorry to disappoint you Nympho." Helga smiled as Ty gave her a half dirty glare mixed in an amused smirk. "I've only had my eyes set upon ice cream, and nothing else has ever really attracted me…"

"Ice Cream! I love ice cream! Is it chocolate? I adore chocolate? Or is it strawberry? I adore strawberry too! Especially with chocolate sprinkles and chocolate sauce…" Sumomo jumped up and grabbed Helga's arms, with sparkles in her eyes. "I'd love some ice cream right now…"

"Oh shut up Sumomo. It's probably some sort of nickname or somethin'." Candy gave Helga a slight smile, and then turned back to Sumomo.

"Or maybe it's a fetish," Ty whispered to Bookie, who blushed again as Candy rolled her eyes.

Sumomo still stared blankly outwards, thinking upon different ice cream desserts. Candy threw Sumomo her usual arrogant smirk and took another sip her drink. "Plus, everyone knows lemon puddin' is better." Candy closed her eyes lightly, and licked her pink lips in anticipation for her next chance to have some.

"Are you kidding? Ice cream is better." Sumomo glared, stamping to her feet and clutching upon Helga's arm tighter. Helga gave her no notice however, and raised her coffee mug to her lips again, finishing off the rest of the cup with one shot.

"Lemon Puddin'" Candy said shortly, slurping the rest of her Pina Colada out of her glass.

"Ice Cream," Sumomo pouted, and turned on her heel in anger. Unfortunately Helga was still attached upon her arm, and Helga flew upon the ground. Sumomo fell upon her afterwards, and they lay in a large tangled heap upon the floor.

"Well, if all it takes to get you two a couple of drinks to get you guys to perform some 'entertainment' in public, the next round is on me!" Ty giggled, and raised her glass to them. Helga and Candy soon joined her in laughing, and before long everyone was overcome with alcohol induced giggles.

-

Helga and Candy held up the unconscious Sumomo, keeping her feet from dragging as they headed back towards the orphanage. They tumbled drunkenly back and forth as they watched Ty speed ahead of them, skipping along with Bookie in the pale streetlight.

"So, is she always like this or was I just lucky enough to see this teenybopper even more hyper than expected?" Helga laughed, hoisting the small girl up again.

"Ya think that's bad, you shoulda saw the time she somehow found the way to my "mental health and PMS relief" cabinet. I've never seen anyone down so much liquor and candy at the same time. It took her a full day to get her to crash, and another day to get over her monster hangover." Candy shook her head at the memory and Helga gave a sort of an amused snort.

"Hey babes, we better hurry. Looks like 'bonding time' is almost up and we have to be there in time to blend with the crowd." Ty urged them by pointing to the orphanage clock and went into a full run with Bookie. Candy and Helga grabbed a better hold of their last companion by picking her feet up, and jogged to catch up with the other two.

All of them carefully slid inside the old window within the basement and darted on chairs & tables to try to keep themselves dry. Slipping on one of the wet stools, Candy and Helga accidentally dropped Sumomo in the cold water, but before they could go and retrieve her from the indoor pond, she came bobbing up and dragging herself on the table like a soaked and undignified kitten.

"That was so mean you guys," her teeth chattered, as she tried to sponge out her clothing.

"We're making up for having to drag your butt back here," Helga laughed, throwing a wink to Candy. Sumomo said nothing more, and followed closely behind the rest in silent anger. Properly darting around the water maze, they made their way out of the basement and onto the main floor doors.

"Wait for it..wait for it…" Candy muttered, and throwing her group one last smile, pointed to the ceiling as a loud blast ran throughout the building's walls. The hall seemed suddenly crowded with people, and the four girls managed to easily blend through with the mixture of people.

"Weird," Sumomo chattered through chattering teeth, "seems to be a lot less of people out.."

Helga glanced at the full hallways, and wondered how much fuller this damn place could be. One of the older bulkier kids seemed to be shoving the smaller kids around him aside, trying to grab the attention of others. Glancing around, he stopped on top of the staircase, and bellowed out to all the orphans, "Arnold's gonna fight Hunter. Arnold's gonna get his ass kicked!" as if it was a biblical outburst of the greatest proportions.

"Aww crap, Hunter's gonna fight Arnold again? I'm surprised he just doesn't throw him off the third floor and end it for that poor kid." Ty shook her head, as the rush to get to the fight's location carried the girls up the stairs. "Helga? Helga!"

The group watched the pig tailed girl push her way through the crowd, furiously making her way up to the fight scene.

"She looks pretty PO'ed, even from here." Candy said calmly. The rest of the girls nodded silently, and with a slight pause tried to run after their newly made, fuming friend.


	7. Place For My Head

**Title **- Moments Turned To Hours  
**Author - **Mystic Rains  
**Rating – **PG-13 for this chapter, for the fight, but really more for the language might be considered trashy, dirty, potty, foul, disgusting, rude, etc etc…

**Summery - **Arnold's in an orphanage, only a shell of what he really use to be. The kids there are even making bets on if he'll be the next suicide. But when there's the person from his past who ends up in the same situation as him, maybe he'll be able to hang on…  
**Disclaimer - **Hey Arnold? If I owned it, it would have been sold for college money.  
**Author's Note** - Hey guys. I know it's just a couple of reviews, but I don't mind too much. I love seeing them but I write I suppose because I want to write, and not because I just want to be told how great I am. laughs (is saying this in a quiet plea of reviews because she hates how others beg for them) I know my chapters are short, but they were always short. Long chapters are great, but I'd never get them done. As you tell what it's like when I simply do a small on. I try to keep it to past 1,250, with only the story included, so expect that. Word likes to make you think you have more than you have.

* * *

_I want to be in another place  
I hate when you say you don't understand  
You'll see it's not meant to be  
I want to be in the energy  
Not with the enemy  
A place for my head_

_You try to take the best of me  
You try to take the best of me, _

_Go away…_

**Place For My Head – Linkin Park

* * *

**

"Come on Arnold? What're ya? Too depressed to fight me? You big pussy, your too whiny to get a good hit you bitch!"

The crowd circled in closer to the two fighters, edging Arnold more into the view of his opponent. Hunter could be easily mistaken as the evil fraternal twin of Wolfgang. As Wolfgang use to bully younger kids for lunch money and use some minor excuse to fight the younger kids, Hunter was exactly what his name stated. Cruel and vicious, he'd target something and go after it brutally until it was simply dead. His greasy locks clumped together and he used the constant sweat from his body to spike his hair up. His beefy arms bulged out of his childish tee-shirts, and his feet seem to usually cause half the loud thundering on the stairs.

"What did I do to you now Hunter?" Arnold sighed, knowing that there was nothing he could do to get out of this body made ring. He had long before given up on trying talking Hunter into being more lenient on his fellow beings and his peers would just push him back and make him fight. It was most likely because they enjoyed seeing blood on the floor, especially his it seemed.

"You're pathetic. And it's the law of the fittest here you little fuck! You're not worth the space you take!" Hunter growled and flexed his arms threateningly. The multitude ohh'ed at Hunter, as if he had gotten off some truly witty remark, some of the older guys gave out a whoop in agreement and more than just a hint of stupidity to their leader.

"If you wanted me to move away from Cindy at the table, you could have just asked," Arnold retorted calmly. Inside his nerves were shot, and his hands were sweaty. He wanted nothing more to escape, as the first time he was ganged up by Hunter he was in Health Hell for at least a week and the nurse had done nothing but belittle him for not fighting back. He didn't want a second time. As bad as the fight was, the nurse seem to make things a million times worse.

The crowd laughed and ohh'ed once again, as Cindy blushed. It was common around the ground as Cindy being the sweetest girl at the orphanage, she was well liked, and as she was the only one of Arnold's age seeing how much of a gentleman Arnold was, had taken a general liken to him instead of a brute of his oppressor.

Arnold took a glance to his side, stealing a glance at the prominent figure of blond pigtails made their way through the group. He remembered the guts Helga had whenever she was threatened by the older students at PS 118 (which was very rare considering the known reputation she had) and wished for the first time he could have been a bit less 'gentleman' and a little more 'manly.'

"…and you're gonna find your head so far up your ass you're gonna have a donut spine!" Hunter finished, grinding his fist into his open palm.

"Hunter, I don't understand why you're like this. Can't you just find a hobby, like knitting?" Arnold whimpered, taking another step back cautiously. The crowd took it as an insult and roared with laughter, the thought of this large kid in a rocking chair with two little sowing needle and making little boots enough to make them silently cry tears of mirth.

Hunter bared his fang like teeth, and ran towards Arnold like a furious bull, determined to pound him into little pieces and hear at least one of his bones breaking musically beneath his fist. The crowd started up on the fight chant, which got the adrenaline flowing even faster through the two challengers. Arnold tried to find a way to dodge his attack, but the first sound of skin upon skin contact and the first drops of blood spilled was that of Hunter's own, as he flew back, howling in pain.

"Who in FUCK did THAT! I'll fucking KILL HIM!" Hunter hissed, mopping up blood from his upper lip and flinging it to the ground.

"I won't stand for you beating up on someone who didn't do nothing to your lard butt!" Helga hissed, cracking her fingers and flexing back the Five Avengers back to their battle position. "You're an asshole and I won't stand for it!" The crowd drew back and held its breath, unsure what Hunter would do with a girl who threatened him, his position on top of the food chain, and his lip, and also seemed to have no problem doing it again.

"Look you little BITCH, I dunno where the fuck you came from but who you are but if you wanted to have your pretty little face smashed, you came to the right fucking man." Hunter hissed, mocking her position and holding out his muscled fist.

"Helga, stop it. You don't have to fight this for me," Arnold spoke gently, trying to grab her hand and pull her back his way.

"This isn't for you Arnoldo. I don't have to be in here for more than a night to know this asshole is here picking on others for nothing," Helga whispered, shaking in fury and turning her back on Hunter. "I'm not gonna just watch these sort of people get away with i-"

Suddenly a sharp cry spilled through Helga's lips as Hunter's fist caught her in the side rib, landing on her bruised mark like a perfect target and causing her to fall over a few feet to where she was standing, grasping her side and moaning in pain. The mob sounded mostly with hisses of jeer and moderate cheer at Hunter as he made his way to her fallen figure.

"Betcha you're not gonna think about hitting me now, aren't ya girlie?" He smirked, as he went to grab at her hair. Smirking, she pulled away from him and spat at him, leaving her distaste of him apparent and a quiet testament that as soon as she's up, she'd have no problem taking another swing at him. The swarm gathered back, as in new fear of what Hunter would try to do now that he was infuriated beyond belief.

He grunted and stood up, backing up a few feet away from Helga and wiped off the saliva with one of his sleeves. As quick as a flash he had his foot on Helga's side and was pushing down hard, leaning his weight into it and expected to hear her scream, as she only gave a whimper.

His eyes widening in surprise, Arnold watched in horror on how Hunter was dominating over Helga.

_Just like Bob would_.

Arnold shook his head as a vision passed through his mind. Helga, in the same position in the middle of her house, and Bob grinning down with that idiotic grin. The same selfish grin he always seemed to give Arnold, as if he wasn't worth the money and time people poured into his well being. Ignoring Helga's sputtering, angry at the fact that his daughter was strong enough not to cry out in pain, not to cry out in mercy...

"STOP IT! STOP IT YOU ASSHOLE!" Arnold screamed. The crowdmutually gasped at this sudden anger.Arnold, the quiet one. The one who tookcare of the younger kids, is angry. Cursing no less?Before he or Hunter knew it, they were on the floor. Arnold had leverage over Hunter and used it to his advantage. Arnold drew his fists back and forth as he angerily pounded at Hunter's face with hidden strength and furious madness. Hunter was able to to give Arnold a kick to his waist, which knocked the air out of him enough to roll him off. Touching his own face, Hunter growled and went to pounce on Arnold, cusses and flecks of blood spittle flying out of his mouth. Not to be caught, Arnold spun himself out of the way and caught Hunter by behind, jumping on his back and grabbing him in a headlock.

By the time one of the male cafeteria attendants overheard the commotion and pulled Arnold and Hunter away from each other, both of them were covered in bruises, cuts, and blood. Despite all of these it was able to tell who was worse for the ware, as Arnold at least had one eye partly open and his other eye fully, as Hunter's were both sealed shut, as his nose ran with blood and his mouth was covered with it. Dragging Hunter, the attendant brought him down the stairs, as Helga followed silently, helping herself and Arnold by leaning close together and supporting each other.


	8. Bent

**Title **- Moments Turned To Hours

**Author - **Mystic Rains

**Rating –**Um…M? I think that's how they rate this stuff now.

**Summery - **Arnold's in an orphanage, only a shell of what he really use to be. The kids there are even making bets on if he'll be the next suicide. But when there's the person from his past who ends up in the same situation as him, maybe he'll be able to hang on…

**Disclaimer - **Hey Arnold? If I owned it, I woulda been Helga's make up artist.

**Author's Note** – Once again, another reviewer begging for an update is what brings me back. That and realizing all my favorite stories haven't been updated for a while either, and realizing I'm doing what all the author's are doing, and keeping their audience waiting. Anyways, done with High School, Prom, and Graduation. One more month till I head off to college – with a brand new laptop as well, so maybe with more begging reviews, I'll keep this up.

Anyways, in this chapter, remember that they're **older**. I really tried to keep them in character, so please don't yell too much if they're OOC.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_If I couldn't sleep could you sleep _

_Could you paint me better off _

_Could you sympathize with my needs _

_I know you think I need a lot _

_I started out clean but I'm jaded _

_Just falling _

_Just breaking the skin _

_Can you help me I'm bent _

_I'm so scared that I'll never _

_Get put back together _

_Keep breaking me in _

_And this is how we will live _

_With you and me bent _

**Bent – Matchbox 20**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_**Five Months Later**_

"Hey Arnold? Hey Arnold! HEY ARNOLD!"

"What!" Arnold shouted, bouncing out of bed and moaning in pain for his efforts. He felt gentle hands push him lightly back down on the mattress and tried to blink his semi-swollen eye open. Laughing lightly, he gave a half whimper/half smile to his 'nursemaid' for the last couple of months – on and off of course.

"You know Helga, if you weren't always screaming at me, I'd say you'd almost enjoyed taking care of me…"

Cocking her eyebrow lightly, she gave him a bit of an enigmatic smile (despite the days they spent together, she was still a master of hiding her everyday emotions from him) and plopped a soaking wet wash towel over his forehead.

"If you'd stop being such a pansy and standing up for yourself, I wouldn't have to be here _or_ scream at you. You're not the brightest crayon in the box for fightin' when you have a fever too, bucko." Helga laughed lightly, pulling the food tray next to her.

"First you want me to stand them, then you tell me not to fight when I'm sick. It's not like I got a choice when Hunter's coming at me for getting sick all over his new sneakers."

The view of Hunters's shocked face while he looked down at his newly bought Puma sneakers , covered in Tuesday Meatloaf Surprise (revisted) as Arnold apologized profusely brought tears of laughter threatening to return to Helga's eyes.

"You know Helga, it's only funny the last six times you're reminded."

"Sorry Arnoldo, but you had great aim that night!"

Arnold sighed, though clearly amused at the thought. As usual, his eyes spoke of guilt, and Helga sighed before giving him a decent whack on his injured arm.

"OW Helga, what was that for!"

"For looking so damn worried about getting me nurse duty again. I told you the last six times –"

"Twelve."

"Twelve times we've went through this. I kicked Hunter's ass because he deserved it, not 'cause I wanted any sort of revenge for you. Now, stop giving me that look before I decide not to give you your little nurse's treat." Helga smirked as Arnold's eyes lit up – smiling inwards at herself for being so calmed and at peace with her first love, and now best male friend.

Reaching down her top (and watching Arnold turn away beat red with embarrassment – as usual) she pulled out a Double Whooper with a wrapped package of Burger Queen fries.

Taking them quickly and savoring the first taste of fast food bliss, Arnold smiled "Helga darling, if it wasn't for the fact that you knocked out Hunter eleven out of twelve times, I'd get up and kiss you."

"Why stop there? I'd love to see you guys finally getting together and getten' it on in a patient bed."

Both Helga and Arnold flushed with red as Ty gave Helga a wink and took a seat next to her upon Arnold's bed. She kept her usual seductive grin on, as she lazily wrapped her arms around Helga's midsection, knowing full well on how much Helga took it out on her later.

"Sorry to interrupt you guys, but I love seeing my younger girls' flirt, especially while they develop into such curvy and delicate young women." To emphasize her point, Ty took her hand and traced Helga's figure with her hands. Arnold kept his head down, allowing his long blond hair to mildly shield his view, though he embarrassingly watched Jessica's hands trace her figure. (Though not outwardly touching her he noticed, as Helga wouldn't take crap from anyone, even as close as the group was.) "Hey Arnold? Wouldn't you want a piece of her..?"

"JESSICA!" Helga stood up furiously as Ty winced. Every time Helga got angry enough to call her by her first name, she knew she'd be paying a good portion of Helga's things the next time they went on one of their city expeditions to make it up to her. Even she knew she sometimes went too far when it came to Helga and her 'ice cream.'

"Yeah yeah, I just came down to tell ya one of the Sisters wanted to talk to ya about a family, and to report there immediately."

Helga angry murmuring turned from sex-obsessed nymphs to damn foster families, as she knew if Ty was allowed to come down it'd be serious. Helga gave a dismissive See ya wave with her hand as she threw the nurses hat, and bolted up to the 'meeting room.'

"Another family! Already! Doi! Always trying to get rid of me…"

Both watching her depart, Arnold murmured a quiet goodbye and went to munching on his burger, trying to ignore the extra weight at the side of his bed. Ty was way too hot blooded and observant for his innocence, he already knew that, and though Helga could handle her well, he knew he couldn't.

"Oh stop looking down Mr Never-Heard-Of-Sex. I ain't gonna rape you." Ty muttered, throwing herself on a nearby chair and stealing a handful of his precious fries. "Nor was I here to tease Helga – I do that on my own time. I was just here as a messenger."

Arnold was quiet as she took another handful of fries and smirked at him.

"You know, an innocent guy like you is perfect for our rough diamond Helly girl. It's obvious she likes you. Why don't you just ask her out already?"

Arnold blushed lightly and he spoke down to his burger wrapper, finishing his last bite.

"Helga is just a friend. She takes care of me 'cause I was the only person she knew when she came here – I'm just a friendly face. Though she always wanted to beat me into a pulp from kindergarten to fourth grade..." He laughed nervously as Ty looked on curiously at him.

"That's not telling me anything about why you can't get together kid..."

"Well, I dunno. This is Helga we're talking about. There's past behind her, behind me, and this whole place. If you were to know Helga before she came here, the idea of love, especially with Helga in the same sentence, is impossible to imagine."

"Well people change Mr. Innocent. Is that so hard to believe? I mean I've been in this hell hole since I was seven, and I doubt I'm even an itch ofthe same then than I was now."

"You're her friend nowthough. Not before. She was so strong before, so impenetrable, she doesn't deserve -"

A resounding slap echoed through the luckily empty Nurses' Office, as Ty stood up fuming.

"I thought you were a good guy, but I can't even listen to that crap. If you don't think she deserves you, then you're holding you and your innocence angelic self way too high!"

Arnold let his head limply fall to the side, watching her departure through his cornlock hair. Twirling around and making her way towards the door, Ty coolly flipped him off and let the door shut with a hard slam. He sighed deeply, and continued as if nothing happened.

"…she doesn't deserve to deal with this orphan's baggage. She doesn't need to be weighed downwith my feelings…"


	9. You

**Title **- Moments Turned To Hours

**Author - **Mystic Rains

**Rating – **M. Not for this chapter, but for those before and most likely those after.

**Summery - **Arnold's in an orphanage, only a shell of what he really use to be. The kids there are even making bets on if he'll be the next suicide. But when there's the person from his past who ends up in the same situation as him, maybe he'll be able to hang on…

**Disclaimer - **Hey Arnold? If I owned it, I'd be sinking my teeth into Nick for taking it off the air AGAIN!

**Author's Note** – I touched up chapter one, as well as the last two chapters. The only chapter that'd it be best to reread, is the end of the last one. (Bent) I know I take really long to update, but hopefully you'll like what I write when I do. Do you guys think I'm moving the mushy-ness too fast and/or too soon? As usual, I love reviews, and I hope you like this longer chapter.

* * *

You

You are a nice, cool breeze in me

I feel you blowing in

I can feel the sunlight all around me

You're shinning

I feel beautiful when I'm around you

I'm safe and comfortable

'Cause you are wonderful

It feels natural to be around you

You've made it possible

You're wonderful

**You - Kazami**

* * *

_Oh Arnold, my love, my blushing prince. How this hole of infested proportions holds a place in my heart. Without it, I would never be as able to get as close to you as I am now. My fluttering feelings, be still. I shall carry all the fast food in the world down my shirt to see that smile once again…_

"Doi! All the fast food in the world? Helga old girl, you're starting to lose it…" She muttered, giving one last goofy smile to the old weathered locket and slipping back into her hiding place.

The steps creaked as usual underneath her feet, as she took the steps two by two up from the Infirmary, and up into the main halls. Helga clenched on her arms as she kept her gaze straight, heading towards the top of the stairs and the long hall that lead into the main part of the building.

_Rats rats rats! Why the hell do they always have to be rats…_

It wasn't easy to forget this hallway. Helga knew well the first time she walked Arnold down the path that the rats in this part of the house held absolutely no fear in going straight up to humans, for the potential smell of food.

_**Flashback **_

"Hey football head?" Helga gently muttered, shaking Arnold's limp figure lightly. "You got to at least show me where the nurse is before passing out on me."

Disoriented beyond belief, Arnold lifted his head up, wiped the blood from the side of his mouth and smiled up blankly at her.

"Just follow the yellow brick road Helga..." He looked at her perplexedly as she laughed lightly.

"Sheesh football head, when you take a swing the head you really get your brains rattled, don't you?" Helga mumbled, holding him up more as her ribs cried in discomfort. Nothing could compare however, to the bliss of knowing that Arnold fought.

_And for me. Arnold, my love, my noble prince fought and won a battle to protect me... _

"Although it's hard to believe you won…" she whispered to herself, wondering where that male attendant had gone with the overgrown unconscious jerk. She figured if anyone needed medical attention, it was that lug.

"Yellow brick road…yellow brick road…" Arnold kept smiling, tiredly dragging his feet.

"What the hell are you talking about Arnold-o? The floor is wh-red?" Finally looking down, Helga spotted the droplets of thick red blood leading down the hall.

"I think I found the path cowardly lion..."

After dragging Arnold so far that her own legs couldn't stand to support herself, much less then him, she leaned Arnold down against the musty brick wall to the infirmary's hallway. Gasping for air as well, Helga collapsed down next to him. Arnold's head lolled in Helga's direction, and smiled weakly. Helga, brimming with a bright smile inside, scowled and growled.

"What do you think you're smiling at football head?"

"Just thinking. Maybe I should have gone with the whole 'I'm crazy!' song instead…" Arnold laughed nonchalantly, dabbing his finger lightly to his eye and wincing. "Don't hit me. I'll hit me. I'm craaazzzy!"

Helga lips curved in a tiny smile. She almost forgot how she called him over and over, reminding him of the minutes until he'd meet his demise. It seemed like so far from the position they were in now.

_36 HOURS, 52 MINUTES, AND 12 SECONDS UNTIL YOU DIIIIEEEE!_

"I don't know Arnoldo. You got a good amount of punches in there. The Five Avengers are almost slightly impressed…"

"Almost?" Arnold mumbled, "what did I have to do to impress them? Fight one hand tied behind my back?"

"Both hands actually…"

"Thanks Helga." The football head laughed, hinted with a bit of dry humour, but mostly appreciative.

Replying with nothing but silence, Helga tiredly got to her feet. She extended a hand to Arnold, who took it and got to his feet as well. Wincing slightly, Helga almost jumped as Arnold slipped an arm around her waist, and pulled her closer to him. Immediately Helga made a fist, and Arnold quickly loosened his hold, though not letting go completely.

"Don't hit me Helga. I just want to help you. I could imagine how bad your ribs feel after B-," Arnold bit his lip, and avoided Helga's intense gaze, "Hunter pushed against them like that. He isn't a feather…"

"I'm just fine Bucko. I don't need your help or your pity!" She whispered harshly, pushing Arnold away and taking off in a brisk stomping walk to the Infirmary. Arnold tried to catch up with her, but the sudden movement caused his head to spin.

"Wait Helga! Don't make so much noise! You'll vibrate the walls and then all the…"

"RATS! RATS EVERYWHERE! ARNOLD!"

Breaking off for a run in the opposite direction, Helga sprung off the ground and into Arnold's unsuspecting arms, screaming hysterically and pointing in fear.

"OHMIGOD! THERE'S SO MUCH OF 'EM! GET 'EM AWAY FROM ME."

_**End Flashback **_

Helga's ears pounded with blood as she went full speed towards the end of the Infirmary hallway. She use to walk slow in the fear of awaking the rats, but they always seemed to come out as if they knew and smelled her fear. Now she sprinted with all she had to get out of the hallway as fast as possible, and only keep her eyes on literally the light at the end of the tunnel.

She could hear the growling squeaks of the rats behind her and doubled her speed, turning sharply around a jagged corner. Helga wrenched the door free and slammed it behind her, as she swore she heard hairy splats and angry squeaks along the other side of the door.

"Helga my child, we were just about to come to meet you. You didn't have to rush out so quickly…"

_Well maybe if you hired an exterminator, I could have taken my sweet time. Doh..._

Instead of voicing these opinions, she plastered a fake smile on her face and just nodded her head to Sister Pegglet and the approaching family.

"Is this the little darling?" The stubby little man smiled, just a bit taller then Helga's height of 5"5'. His thin neck was almost hidden by his heavy and obviously expensive leather coat, and the thick black mustache and toupee seemed to match his obviously older face. "Honey look, her blond hair is just as bright as yours."

"But her eyebrow certainly isn't…" The lady muttered in distaste. "I thought I told you I wanted a younger one. One who's preferably cute enough to be seen with me, remember? One eyebrow just won't do." She gave the Sister an impatient glare.

"Oh honey…" The older man mumbled sadly. He turned to the surprised nun and quietly inquired, "Do you have any younger blonds?"

"Ye-yes. Right this way. Carry on your way Helga dear…"

Helga's lips stayed silent as the couple past. Feeling a little vindictive, Helga watched the odd couple past and saw the pink with white print on her bag. Looking down at her nurse smock, she realized where the print came from and started walking towards the stairs.

"Uck, "It" girl is so passé. Good ridden to bad fashion taste. "

Helga gave off a beaming smile as she could feel the death ray glare boring into her skin. Whistling innocently, she continued up the stars and looked at her watch.

_Nine twenty-nine. Everyone's probably in the gym watching the Monday Movie Madness. Luckily it never takes Arnold long to escape…_

And surely, waiting at the top was a goofy looking Arnold, bruises and all.

"That was a record. Was the family not smitten with you at first sight?" Arnold asked curiously. Usually blondes were the first ones to go, and Helga constantly had families asking for her. Usually it took no more then seventy two hours top for them to return her however.

"I didn't have enough fashion idiot taste to meet their standards. Apparently the IT girl didn't have it this time. Can you believe that football head?" Smirking lightly, Helga posed at each step as she made her way up, and Arnold pretended to snap pictures

"IT girl not having her IT. It's a scandal."

"Crimeny, like I'd want to be in some yuppie fashion family anyway." Helga muttered, and with a sudden itch of curiosity. "How the heck did you get up here quicker then I did?"

"Thank Jessica for that. She kind of showed me the faster way…."

_**Flashback **_

Once the shock of sting faded from his cheek, Arnold bolted up from his bed, following Ty's footsteps. He threw the remaining trash on the way out the door, and quickly thanked the emerging Nurse Butch for her hard work, like he did every time he ended up in Health Hell. The nurse simply snorted a response, muttered something along the lines of 'pansy', and let him go. Before Helga, she use to get intense pleasure of talking down to Arnold as she tended to his numerous injuries.

"Wait wait, Jess wait! Don't go, I didn't mean it like that!"

"Don't wanna hear it Arnold. And don't go calling me by that name. My little respect for you just dropped like a rock." Ty's voice echoed through out the stairwell, and hit Arnold from all sides.

"I didn't mean to sound like what I said! Wait! You don't understand! Helga's my best friend. I need her!"

"You need her? Pfft. You guys are all the same. You don't need anything." Ty half mock, half laughed callously. Arnold turned around quickly, unsure of where her voice was coming from. "I'm not going to let you hurt her. How often has she fought for you? You need her like you need a bodyguard. I doubt you even care if she got hurt in one of the fights."

"I'm not like them. Of course I care if she got hurt. Ty, please believe me. I'm not the type of guy to just use someone. I…" Arnold looked around frantically, needing to see her. She had to make Ty see before she said something to Helga, and the fragile relationship they built would be completely and utterly destroyed. His voice echoed along the wall, pleading and desperate as a man begging for a sip of water after days in the desert.

"Spare me the bull. She'd be better off without you…" Ty hissed furiously, though closer to Arnold then she was before.

"I know...I know she would. But please believe it… I need her, so much…"

A door behind Arnold slid open, illumining the dark hallway with eerie white light. Ty watched in surprise as Arnold looked at her with an emotion so deep within his eyes that she couldn't even find a word for it.

"Get in. We need to talk." She said quickly, and he stumbled into the old elevator.


End file.
